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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

This is a bread recipe that I submitted to the Strolling of the Heifers bread baking contest. I didn't win anything, but I was very glad it was selected for the finals, and I had a helluva great time! I wrote it to incorporate their requirements, thus the products mentioned.

Eva’s Really Fantastic Bread

This is not sandwich bread. This is bread
that you’d use as the centerpiece of a meal. It is hearty and substantial, and
a bit dangerous. As it’s baking, your neighbors, and even strangers, will knock
on your door for silly dreamed-up reasons, just for a better whiff of the
unbelievable aroma. Your home will be completely bombarded by wanted and
unwanted guests by the time this comes out of the oven. You’ve been warned.

A slice of this with jam, or thinly-sliced
Cabot Cheddar (whichever flavor suits you), or a single Pete & Gerry’s egg
cooked however you like it, or some hummus, will make a meal for just about
anyone except for farm folks, who might need a second slice before they go out
to milk in the morning.

This recipe makes two loaves.

About an hour before you want to start
making the bread, combine these ingredients in a medium-size saucepan with a
tight-fitting lid:

¼ cup millet

¼ cup steel-cut oats

¼ cup bulgur wheat

¾ cup water

Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off the
heat. Let sit until lukewarm. About 50 minutes after you’ve turned off the heat,
combine in your favorite large ceramic bread bowl:

2 cups hot water (just hot enough for yeast)

2 tablespoons Organic Barley Malt Syrup

4 teaspoons SAF Red Instant Yeast

Whisk together until foamy. Then add to this
mixture:

2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour

¾ cup King Arthur Bread Flour

Use a dough whisk to combine everything,
whisking until the mixture looks and feels gelatinous. If you don’t have a
dough whisk (you really should), use a hefty wooden spoon that you’ve coated in
olive oil (important, unless you want to sandpaper it all off the wooden spoon
afterward; the hefty part is important, too). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap
and let rise until triple in size.

Pour all this into the bowl of your favorite
mixer. (I know that King Arthur Flour folks like those Viking abominations, but
they’d have to pry my Kitchen Aid mixer out of my cold, dead, scarred hands,
and probably not even then.) Add:

The cooked lukewarm grains

1+ cup King Arthur Bread Flour (I’ve found
that it depends on the weather, mostly, on how much you’ll need; if it’s dry
out, you’ll need less; if it’s raining, more…)

1 tablespoon King Arthur Flour Bread Salt

½ cup dark molasses

2 tablespoons olive oil

Attach the bread hook and knead for about 5
minutes. (If you’re kneading by hand, good for you!!! I’ve had carpal tunnel
surgery on both hands, so I’ve had to resort to a Kitchen Aid for my kneading
needs. Knead by hand until it tells you it’s done, and I really really really
miss being able to do this.) Stop the mixer and take out the bread hook, cover
the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes (important--don’t skip
this step!).

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface,
divide in half, give a final knead by hand, and shape into 2 loaves. You can
make these loaves free-form, or use greased bread pans. Coat the loaves with a
generous coating of olive oil. Cover them with a clean dish towel, and let the
loaves rise until double in size; when they are almost done rising, pre-heat
your oven to 425 degrees. When they are ready, put them in the oven quickly,
drop two ice cubes onto the bottom of the oven (if you’re using an electric
oven, put a metal pie dish on the floor of the oven and drop them into that),
close the door, and let bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350
degrees, and bake for 25 minutes more.

This bread, while it’s baking, makes your
house smell so good you won’t believe it. When you remove it from the oven, if
you’re using bread pans, let the loaves cool for about 10 minutes before
turning them out of the pans. Try to avoid slicing off a piece right after it’s
come out of the oven, if you can. Cool the loaves on a rack or clean kitchen
towel. You can dig in when they are still slightly warm, but not before that.